Ohiyo!

I’m trying to catch up on some of these reader questions today. This time we have a gym owner wanting to know about the difference between Life Fitness and Star Trac fitness equipment. Let’s see if we can help him out.

Sensei -
I read your online reviews and the are very detailed.

Granted, we are a commercial user vs. the home buyer, but can you tell me which of the two are better in terms of long term maintenance? Your comments are greatly appreciated. Thank you -Sean

Sean:

Thanks for the note and I’m glad you like the site. It’s strange that you’re hearing negative word about Star Trac. From my experience — and, keep in mind, the DOJO does mainly commercial installations at gyms, apartment complexes and the like — Star Trac and Life Fitness are the two main companies when it comes to commercial fitness equipment right now (sure, Precor deals with great ellipticals, but the rest of their equipment isn’t quite as sterling). However, people do fall in to camps when it comes to opinions on the two brands — they love one but hate the other and nothing will change their minds.

My preference is Star Trac just because I think their designs are a bit more modern but that’s a mainly aesthetic preference. If pressed, I’d say the new Star Trac units are a bit better built and designed, and are a little more maintenance free (of course, nothing that runs for 100+ hours a week will be completely maintenance free!).

Truthfully, your gym will do fine with either product. They are both very high quality and have great customer service when you need it. New units from either camp will last you a long time with the proper maintenance. A treadmill from either company should last around 7 years or so before you might want to consider a replacement. You’re basically comparing a Mercedes to a BMW.

Thanks again and take care!

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

Now that I’m finally getting caught up on the Ichi-Ban Award reviews (the second annual awards will be a lot more organized!), I’ve decided to answer a few pieces of reader mail. Strangely, even though the busy season is coming to a close, the Treadmill Sensei is getting more and more mail every day. I’m spending almost an hour a day trying to sort through 50+ email messages. I apologize for not being able to get back to everyone who writes, but Mrs. Sensei is already annoyed with the amount of time I spend on the website.

The first note of the day comes from Daniel who has a broken deck on his Nordic Track.

My Nordic Track c1800′s walking deck broke and I have removed it. Can I replace this with a piece of 3/4″ plywood? The part will be on back order with Nordic Track or Sears for a few weeks, not to mention that it will be $100 + S/H. I can salvage the mylar sheet and the hardware guides on the bottom. Also, do I need to treat the board with any special type of paint or anything? Thanks. -Daniel

Thanks for your note, Daniel.

Sounds like you’re in a bit of a pickle! The short answer would be no — you could probably cut a piece of wood to size and then mount it on the Nordic Track c1800 treadmill but it would never feel quite right. The reason being not only the mounting (very specific grommit types and placement and so on), but also because the decks are actually multi-layered pieces made up of different woods which have undergone treatments to make them rebound just right. It’s a bit more than just sliding a new piece of wood in.

With the amount of abuse a treadmill gets during even a walking workout, the plywood would fail fairly quick and you’d have another broken deck and potentially an injury if it happened during a run.

Unfortunately, with the Nordic Track C1800 I really wouldn’t even recommend getting the deck replaced because you will continue to run in to problems with it. The c1800 treadmill has a very small motor for the price (generally these things run for about $800-$900), the decks are poorly constructed (as you’ve learned), the belts are cheap and fray quickly, there is a lot of plastic in the Nordic Track c1800 and the console tends to be a bit user unfriendly. Luckily, I believe the C1800 has been discontinued.

If this unit were priced at about $499 it would be a good unit, but at the higher price point the Treadmill Sensei gives it 2 out of 5 golden buddahs…and that might be a bit generous.

Move along, there’s nothing to see…the Nordic Track c1800 treadmill
gets 2 gold buddahs out of 5.


Click for more information or to purchase a Nordic Track.

Nordic Track c1800 Treadmill Specifications
Motor: 1.5hp
Running Area: 20″x55″
Max Speed: 10 mph
Max Incline: 10%
Folding: Yes
Display: LCD
Max User Weight: 250 pounds

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

For the Treadmill Sensei reviewing treadmills and ellipticals is a lot of fun and pretty easy. We get in tons of equipment here at the DOJO every day and get to play around with a lot of cool fitness toys. It’s a blast. What is a bit harder to when I do my “best of” awards and lists. You see, there is so much equipment out there — and a lot of good equipment — that it’s hard to rank things in comparison. Sometimes a good treadmill is left off the list not due to any fault of its own but just because it slipped my mind! Yeah, I know, it’s hard to believe the Treadmill Sensei doesn’t know all and see all…I’m getting old!

It’s also tough when you have a lot of really good units that all could very well be considered the best of the best. In this case I’m talking about the Bodyguard T240 treadmill. Bodyguard is a great, high quality and classy company which hails from Canada. They are more widely known with gym owners who use their commercial equipment, but Bodyguard also produces some of the best higher-end residential treadmills around.

I haven’t done a Bodyguard review in the past because, to tell the truth, we just don’t get that many of their units through the DOJO. When we do install a unit at a gym or residence we generally never hear about it again. The Bodyguard T240 goes in to a location and rarely has any problems. Bodyguard treadmills in general, and the T240 in specific, just last and last due to some great manufacturing and design.

The Bodyguard T240 comes with a very nice sized 2.75 horsepower motor which is large and cool running to guarantee a longer life. The 20×57 inch running area is great for both joggers and runners, and the 2.5″ rollers are hefty and will keep the stress off both your motor and treadmill belt.

Even better than the incredibly solid construction of the Bodyguard T240 is their warranty. At 10 years for parts and 3 years for labor, the T240 has easily one of the best warranties available for a treadmill. No one else puts this level of faith and support in their product.

The only reason the Bodyguard T240 wasn’t ranked as the best buy for under $2000 is a very small one — I really wish they made their short handles standard instead of just the front bar on the Bodyguard T240. If they gave the unit the standard handles then I’d make this unit a “you’d be stupid NOT to buy it” choice. Bodyguard really is that good.

For being a great treadmill and having an insane warranty, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Bodyguard T240 4.5 out of 5 Golden Buddahs.

The Bodyguard T240 Treadmill gets a great 4.5 gold buddahs out of 5!

Get more information on the Bodyguard T240. Find the best price online and save an additional 3% with Coupon Code TMSENSEI.

Bodyguard T240 Treadmill Specifications
Motor: 2.75 HP
Running Area: 20″x57″
Max Speed: 10mph
Max Incline: 15%
Rollers: 2.5″
Max User Weight: 350 pounds
Unit Weight: 220 pounds
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip and wireless
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Programs: 9
Display: LED
Price: $1899 .99

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

Today the Treadmill Sensei is working on updating his page a bit, so the reviews for today are going to be a little short.

Everyone knows the Sensei loves Sole Treadmills. They put out some great product and are generally really well-priced. I say “generally” because they do a have a unit which saddens me a little every time I see it in the DOJO…not because of quality, because the treadmill is great, but because it’s a bit overpriced for what it is.

The treadmill I’m talking about is the Sole TT8 treadmill. As a slight variation on the upper-end Sole S77, the TT8 treadmill has a lot of great things going for it: it has a giant, cool-running 3.5 horsepower motor, huge 3″ rollers, 12 mph max speed, 15% incline, 400 pound user weight, heart rate monitoring and control, a quarter-mile track and a monster 22″x60″ running area.

The running area. That’s the problem. You see, that’s the only real difference between the Sole S77 and the Sole TT8 treadmills. Two additional inches to the width of the machine. Unfortunately, the going price for the unit is almost $500 more than the S77. It’s a bit outrageous.

Don’t get me wrong, the Sole TT8 is an excellent treadmill but it’s just not worth the ultra high ticket price that it’s being sold for. At $1999 it would be a great treadmill. At $2299 it’s just ok.

High cost without much of an upgrade, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Sole TT8 treadmill a reasonable 3 out of 5 golden buddahs.

Being priced too high for a slight upgrade gets the Sole TT8 3 gold buddahs out of 5.

Order the Sole TT8 factory direct to Guarantee your Warranty. Save even more with Free Shipping and pay NO TAX!

Sole TT8 Treadmill Specifications
Motor: 3.5 HP
Max Speed: 12 mph
Max Incline: 15% maximum
Unit Weight: 300lbs.
Deck: 32 X 80
Max User Weight: 425 lbs.
Running Area: 22″ X 60″
Rollers: 3″
Folding: Non folding
Heart Rate Control: Wireless and Pulse Grip
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Display: LED
Programs: 13
Price: $2299

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Click Here to Save on this Treadmill

Ohiyo!

Things have quieted down here at Casa de Treadmill Sensei now that a week has passed since the birth of my grandchild. The quiet gives me time to get back to what is important in life…reviewing treadmills and ellipticals.

Since my son-in-law has been staying with us since the birth (we’re helping take some of the burden off my daughter), I’ve decided to put him to work at the DOJO. We received in 3 Sole E95 ellipticals a week or so ago which are due to be installed at a local apartment complex next week. With that in mind, and with the E95 ellipticals all set up and ready to go, I set my son-in-law on a mission to test the Soles out. In fact, I informed him that a standard elliptical review workout needed to be run for 90 minutes. The poor deluded fool went along with it.

The first thing I had him do was to get on and adjust the pedals on the Sole E95. One of the great features about this machine is the adjustable pedal design which lets you angle the pedals to what is most comfortable for your stride and workout. It’s very nice and it helps cut down on stress to your feet, ankles and Achilles tendons, as well as stops the creeping foot numbness a lot of less ellipticals cause.

From there I had my daughter’s husband launch in to a warm-up program. After a 20 minute warm-up, I got him to really work out using the great selection of programs the Sole E95 comes with. Now, I’ve seen the number of programs mis-listed as 20 on a number of websites, but these units only had 10 programs which is the correct number. Still, with 6 basic programs, 2 heart rates and 2 user-defined, the Sole e95 gives you a lot to work with.

The elliptical performed perfectly. My son-in-law is a medium sized guy at about 5’11″ and 165 pounds, and he’s very athletic. He gave the elliptical as hard a workout as it gave him…and it passed the test. He commented again and again on how sturdy the Sole E95 was and how incredibly smooth the elliptical’s 20″ stride.

All-in-all, the Sole E95 is one of the best elliptical machines under the $2000 price range and competes very well with units up to about $3000. For those who want a heavy duty elliptical that can hold up to a lot of abuse or hard workouts, then the Sole E95 is a winner. For being just about perfect, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Sole E95 elliptical 4.5 out of 5 golden buddahs.

Oh, after the long workout, my son-in-law passed out on one of the DOJO couches. Wimp.

The Sole E95 stood up to a hard core workout by my son-in-law and gets 4.5 gold buddahs out of 5. My son-in-law only gets 3.5 for passing out.

Get more information on the Sole E95 Elliptical. Find the best price online and Save More with Free Shipping!

Sole E95 Elliptical Trainer Specifications
Stride Length: 20″
Flywheel: 30 lbs.
Max User Weight: 400 lbs.
Resistance Levels: 20
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip and wireless
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Programs: 10
Display Type: LED
Elliptical Weight: 215 lbs.

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

Today here at the DOJO we received in a pair of ellipticals which had been completely trashed during the course of shipping. It doesn’t happen often, but some of the freight companies have the ability to screw up a steel ball-bearing. They’ll drop machines off docks, skewer them with fork lift blades and generally mess up equipment.

When that happens, sometimes the ellipticals or treadmills will come back to our shop to see if they can be repaired to be resold by the manufacturer. In this case the freight company brought us two New Balance 9.5e ellipticals beyond our ability to repair. The frames were twisted and completely useless. It hurts the Treadmill Sensei to see equipment in that terrible of a shape.

It is especially a bummer when the units are as well built as the New Balance 9.5e. The 9.5e elliptical has one of the longest frames/tracks out there — over 7 feet long! While it might not be good for small spaces, it does give a very nice elliptical ride. Very comfortable and, because of that length, incredibly sturdy and stable. Not many residential grade ellipticals can give you as smooth a feel as the New Balance 9.5e…and very very few can do it in the under $1200 price range of the 9.5e.

The 9.5e by New Balance gives you an 18″ stride, 16 levels of magnetic resistance, pulse grip and wireless heart rate monitoring and control, 15 programs, and reverse motion workouts. All in all, the 9.5e is a very solid machine for the price range. If I had to nitpick I’d wish for a longer stride. With a 19 or 20 inch stride, the New Balance 9.5e would be a killer elliptical at the around $1200 price.

For producing a solid unit at a good price, the Treadmill Sensei gives New Balance 3.5 out of 5 golden buddahs for their 9.5e elliptica.

3.5 gold buddahs for a smooth ride and solidly built elliptical.

New Balance 9.5 Elliptical Trainer Specifications
Stride: 18″
Resistance Levels: 16
Max User Weight: 300 lbs.
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse hand grip and wireless
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Programs: 15
Display: Dot Matrix
Product Weight: 176 lbs
Price: $1150

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com